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About Martin

Martin Rides has 35 years’ experience in the world of Data & Direct Mail. He has worked across many areas of the industry including agencies, mail production and data bureaux. After 9 years running a specialist Direct Mail consulting practice, Martin returned to The Software Bureau as Managing Director in 2015.

In the mood for giving: How well-being sparks generosity through direct mail

By |2023-10-31T17:06:16+00:00October 31st, 2023|

A new academic study from the University of Massachusetts and Georgia Institute of Technology has found a connection between donor well-being and their generosity, suggesting that designing direct mail campaigns that makes people feel happy will be an effective way to encourage donations. The concept explores the concept of “preheating,” by replicating the warm glow often associated with post-donation moods. While psychologists are familiar with this idea, the study is the first to identify the impact of this on charitable giving. Using natural language processing tools the sentiment of communications donors sent before and after they made a donation were analysed. The researchers detected a reliable and statistically significant mood boost in communications sent up to about an hour before [...]

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What’s going on? Everything you need to know about DPDI in the medium term

By |2023-10-11T07:13:36+00:00October 11th, 2023|

In the realm of data protection legislation, following the recent ICO Data Protection Practitioners’ Conference 2023, it is clear that the fate of the UK's long awaited Data Protection & Digital Information Bill (DPDI) is shrouded in uncertainty. Current Status and Delays As of now, the DPDI faces a challenging path towards becoming law. In his session at the conference, James Snook, the director of policy at the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology indicated that the bill might not receive Royal Assent until mid-2024, with no scheduled debates in Parliament until November 15. The bill is currently at the report stage,  which means it requires further deliberations in both the Commons and the Lords. The Looming General Election Factor [...]

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Direct mail effectiveness soars!

By |2023-10-03T09:17:46+00:00October 3rd, 2023|

In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing channels, email and social media often hog the spotlight. However, the continued resurgence of mail is also hitting the headlines.  In Q2 2023, the effectiveness of the mail channel reached its highest point in a year and a half, with an impressive 31 percent of mail driving positive commercial outcomes for brands. Mail's Remarkable Resurgence One of the most striking findings of Q2 2023 is that mail's effectiveness as a commercial marketing channel saw a year-on-year growth of nine percent. This growth propelled the proportion of mail items prompting actions among consumers to its highest level. This surge in effectiveness reaffirms that mail is far from obsolete in the digital age. A Comprehensive Customer [...]

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Unleashing the Magic of Mail

By |2023-09-25T12:24:44+00:00September 25th, 2023|

We are all now coming round to the fact that there's something timeless and magical about direct mail. You just have to scan the recent news headlines to see that mail’s resurgence is not a flash in the pan. According to JICMAIL its effectiveness recently reached its highest point in a year and a half, with an impressive 31 per cent of mail driving positive commercial outcomes for brands. It is also now the most trusted form of marketing by consumers and commands attention for c.2 minutes across a lifespan of 28 days in the home. Its therefore unsurprising that Marketreach has breathed new life into their "Magic of Mail" campaign, aiming to showcase the incredible attributes of physical mail [...]

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Keeping Pace with AI Ethics

By |2023-09-08T12:13:43+00:00September 8th, 2023|

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our lives, from voice assistants to recommendation systems and autonomous vehicles. Its transformative power has brought both remarkable advancements and profound ethical dilemmas. Recent calls from MPs urging the Prime Minister to pass new legislation for AI safety in the UK, before the EU takes the lead, have brought the spotlight back onto the importance of AI ethics and the critical role data hygiene plays in ensuring safe AI systems. The Call for AI Safety Legislation MPs are sounding an alarm, warning that the UK risks falling behind in the global AI race if comprehensive AI safety legislation is not put in place promptly. The European Union is poised to establish [...]

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Attention please! DM proven to be a high attention channel

By |2023-08-29T15:09:56+00:00August 29th, 2023|

A year-long, in-depth study conducted by JICMAIL has revealed that on average, a direct mail piece holds consumer attention for 108 seconds. Similarly, partially addressed mail commands attention for 64 seconds, while door drops maintain engagement for 46 seconds. This definitively positions mail as a high-attention channel. This is particularly true when amalgamating these new metrics with existing research that underscores mail as the most trusted form of communication, a compelling case emerges for integrating mail into the marketing mix. In addition, JICMAIL has collaborated with PwC to convert these attention-based metrics into an average cost per minute, specifically targeting various audience segments. This enables marketers to make direct, comparative evaluations between mail and alternative media formats. The study reveals [...]

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Data Breach Debacle: Electoral Commission’s 300-Day Delay in UK’s Largest Hack in History!

By |2023-08-10T08:42:57+00:00August 10th, 2023|

On the ICO website it clearly states that organisations suffering data breaches must report it within 72 hours of being made aware of the breach. Lets be clear 72 hours. That equates to three days, Not the 300 days it has taken the Electoral Commission to fess up to THE BIGGEST data breach in UK history. For those that have missed the headlines The Electoral Commission reported a breach on 8th August 2023 having discovered in October 2022 that hackers were playing fast and loose with its systems since August 2021. This includes unfettered access to the names and addresses of at least 40 million people registered to vote between 2014 and 2022. Oh dear. The eagle eyed of you [...]

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Direct marketing spend at highest level since 2006

By |2023-08-02T10:08:51+00:00August 2nd, 2023|

The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has had a big impact on media spend, the latest IPA Bellwether report reveals. Main media budgets encompassing TV, online, radio and press have tanked, whilst direct marketing, events and sales promotions have soared, reflecting reactive change by UK businesses in response to the economic climate. Sales promotions achieved the highest growth rate (13.4 percent), its biggest uplift in more than two decades of survey data. This indicates that marketers are keen to support their customers by providing them value for money, through offers and deals. Events also performed well, experiencing an increase of 9.3 percent. The growth is attributed to a desire from brands to have closer, more personal relationships with their customers. Underpinning this [...]

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Those most likely to donate as a result of Direct Mail

By |2023-07-21T09:18:23+00:00July 21st, 2023|

A new study, The Future of Direct Mail 2023, reinforces the effectiveness of direct mail, with the overwhelming finding that 81% of people engaging with direct mail in some way. Almost two thirds were found to have purchased a physical product as a result of receiving a piece of DM, 43% took advantage of a discount or special offer that was promoted through the mail, 35% applied for a financial product whilst 25% donated to charity as a direct result of a call to action within a mail pack. With charity fundraising suffering as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, understanding the impact of direct mail and who is most likely to respond is incredibly valuable. The report finds that, [...]

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Data processing security is key data concern for 2023

By |2023-07-11T13:01:31+00:00July 11th, 2023|

Our latest review of the GDPR enforcements undertaken by the ICO over the past 12 months reveals that data processing security and right of access are the most common infringements since July 2022. Almost a third (30 per cent) of the 30 recorded infringements this year pertained to Article 5, the principles relating to data processing and of these 21 per cent were for Article 5 (f) which specifies that personal data must be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security. Sixteen per cent contravened Article 15: Right of Access by the data subject and 15 per cent were non-compliant to Article 12 (data transparency) and Article 32 (security of processing). Last year the lion’s share of enforcements (61 [...]

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